The Tale of "Team Moon Drop" Prologue Ch.3
Silas didn't bother defending his town, rather he was far too tired to do so. Frowning at the mysterious person in front of him, Silas swayed before collapsing to the ground. The Last thing he remembered was a bunch of white rushing towards him before he blacked out. '' The sun was going down...how unusual that it would take this long just to get back to his home. His plan had been to simply go to the nearest village and talk to his old friend Graham instead...no, that was not important. What was important was that he had found Graham's ''son, and if he didn't get medical attention soon, he would most likely die. Slightly picking up his pace, he sniffed the air...this wasn't right...He turned around, sensing an overwhelming murderous intent, only not to see anything. Frowning, he slowly applied his light magic to his legs, and leapt into the air, before landing silently onto the ground and dashing towards the forests at inhuman speeds. "Sorry kid, this may hurt a bit but I don't wanna get killed just yet" The man muttered to Silas. Little did he know that the one who had emitted the murderous intent could actually keep up with his inhuman speed. After several minutes of travelling, the Man finally made it to his camp. It was more of a house rather than a camp but it didn't matter, it was basically an empire to him. A wooden hut in the middle, flanked on both sides by larger buildings used for Storage and other stuff. Those buildings didn't really serve a purpose, even though he had built them himself. What really mattered to him was that he was close to the middle of the Forests, the source of all the magic in the forest: The Source Tree. Dawn broke the slumber of the sleeping child. Opening his eyes a bit, Silas immedietly shut them, wanting to sleep more in his bed. Frowning, he knew something was amiss before slowly opening his eyes realising his situation 'I'm in a bed...wut?'. It took some time for the thought to process and load into his mind but when it did, Silas jumped out of bed and took on a defensive stance...or a stance that an 8 year old takes when they think they're doing karate. Franictically looking around, Silas didn't know where he was...who had brought him here? He tried to recall his memories but his brain spectacularly failed at that, instead opting to concetrate on the fact that his legs didn't feel tired. Taking a cautious step forward, Silas' right leg didn't fail him, once again bringing fear into his thoughts: How long was he out? His leg had recovered...who had done this? WHY?? Looking around the room, Silas now saw that it was rather pleasent. The bed was stationed at the center of the back wall, which had a window that filtered sunlight onto the bed. There was a sheathed blade that was balanced on a desk positioned near the door...the door! Running towards it, he tried opening the door...only to discover that he was too short to reach it or rather...the door knob was stationed rather high. Frowning, Silas glanced around the room for a chair...since there was a desk there should have been a chair of some sorts...nope. Sighing in disappointment, he flopped onto the bed, already bored of his surroundings. A thought occured to him: Where was he? Sitting up, he turned around and peered out of the window to be met with an enchanting yet unusual sight. In front of his eyes stood a grand tree, perhaps the most amazing tree he had ever seen. It radiated a glow of yellow light that gave it a holy appearance, it was enourmous, taller than the Council building in his town and far thicker than any building he had ever seen. The dimensions just seemed to transcend logical explanations, and the branches! They seemed to fan out in a distorted spiral that gave an image that it was constantly spinning. Where was he? He almost jumped as he heard the click of a lock, and he turned around, seeing the starting to swing. Survival Instincts took control of his body as he leaped towards the desk, grabbing the sword, unsheathing it and then retreating towards the corner, awaiting the introduction of the man who had kept him in the room. The door fully opened, revealing the intruder to be the man from the village, 'that mage with the white hair' thought Silas. The man stopped in his tracks and stared at Silas, cocking his head before asking "What on earth are you doing?" "Getting ready to get out of here" Silas retorted. The man raised an eyebrow before saying "Well, it looks as if you're in a good enough condition to walk". Silas shifted his feet as the man strode over to him "W-wait, stay back I have a sword!" "And I have a thermometer now shut up and let me take your temperature" "..." "Not so loud now are we?" Taunted the mysterious individual. However, Silas snapped at the remark, jabbing the sword forward while screaming "Shut Up You-" "YOU SHADDUP!" The man interrupted, smacking Silas on the head. "Look, I bring you here and after a month of sleeping, you wake up waving a sword at me so the least you could do is let me check if you're alright or not!" Silas froze at that comment. "I've been asleep for a month? Have you seen my dad then? What about everybody else?" A shadow passed over the man's eyes. Facing the boy in front of him with hard eyes, the man started "Kid...your parents ain't comin' back. Don't know how to tell you this but...from now on I'm taking care of you". The boy stared back in confusion so the man suggested "Alright, before we do anything it'd be a good idea for ud to introduce each other. I'll tell you mine first. I don't really like my first name so I'll let you call me Cocytus for now. What's yours?" Silas frowned "Why should I tell you? Chances are that after today I'm never going to see you again" Cocytus sighed in annoyance. "Kid just tell me your name." "Fine, my name is Silas, happy?" "Last name?" "I don't know alright?" It was evident that he was getting irritated "Our towns a weird one, we dont have mages and at the same time for some reason some idiot thought it'd be cool if we didn't have a surname. Why would you even want to know?" Cocytus looked at the boy very carefully before saying " Alright Silas, I was a friend of your dad. Graham and I go back a very...very long time. So, although it may not be as bad as yours, imagine my shock when..." Cocytus took a deep breath before continuing "It was a massive shock when I found my only friend in the world dead on the floor just outside of this town of yours" Silas took in a sharp breath. Dead? Who? He began to laugh "Ha..ha..ha..ha..HAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHA AhHaaHHA! Dead? Who? My Father? The man who founded the village by himself? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA What are you, INSANE? My Dad would NEVER DIE! Sure he had a virus BUT he would NEVER die until THEN!" Silas brought his right hand to his face, then ran it through his now clean hair. Slowly his laughter faded away, and he noticed that the whole time Cocytus had looked upon him with a look of pity. "Look, don't worry alright? My dad's not dead. I'm not going to believe you just because you say so alright?" Cocytus clenched his jaw. This was worriesome...rather than saying anything he continued to stare at Silas...hopefully he would realize reality on his own... Silas stopped laughing, and stared at Cocytus. Cocytus had been through allot over the past few years but, looking into the boy's eyes, it was heart-wrenching even if he hardly knew him. Absolute grief, he could tell that the child in front of him held onto a false hope that he knew didn't exist. "They...hahaha...you know, I used to annoy them so much, I sometimes thought that they hated me..but now..." Silas fell against the wall, disheartened."We owned a resturant. It was just them two and the occasional volunteer. I had nothing to do, the closest person to my age was a baby that had couldn't even walk. I always made my mum angry, annoying the customers or shocking them with my stupid tricks. She always yelled at me as soon as I was caught, but that was her way of expressing love you'know? Dad...he had a virus. It came from an infection in his leg that he got from an argument with the Council. When they told us that he was going to die, mum always said everyday "Be prepared for the worst Silas", I just didn't think it that the 'worst' would be his bad. Hahahaha....ha..ha...I don't have anybody any more. They were my world, and now they're dead. What do I do now?". Sighing, Cocytus leaned towards Silas and pat him on the head. He really hated showing affection but...he may as well make an exception for Graham's son. "Kid, as long as you live here with me, you'll be safe.I don't know what you can do from now on but right now, I don't think you have to worry about it". And Silas began to cry. The sun was soon setting, the boy in the shadows couldn't even see the sun anymore, mostly due to the fact that the massive tree a while away from him was blocking the sunlight. Even though he had stayed in his position for the last few weeks, the tree never ceased to amaze him. It wasn't the appearance that intrigued him no...it was the frightening ability it possessed of repelling his advances. He had tried several times over the week, each time getting blocked by an unseen force from approaching the tree any closer. He had tried using his magic but that didn't even do anything...what was that tree? He was quickly wrenched out of his thoughts as he heard laughter from inside of the building. It wasn't one of comedy or enjoyment...this was insanity, or on the brink of it, a sound that he had heard only too many times. He smirked, but in the shadows he couldn't even see his own hands. The boy had lived...he had finally found somebody...somebody that had gone through the same hell he had two years ago, although he had to admit that the boy's situation was far worse than his, but that was alright because he was a year younger when that happened. Standing up, a ray of sunlight managed to make it's way onto his eyes, revealling them to be a blood red. He turned around and using his magic, fled the area, his destination a mystery to himself, all that he knew was: he would come back. He would come back and see what became of the survivor after all; There was no way he was going to lose sight of his Guinea Pig THAT easily... A resounding thud travelled across the quiet building, followed by another and another. Lifting the axe once more, Cocytus brought it down to the log and cut it into perfect halves. Wiping his brow, he turned his body so that he was now facing the room in which Silas would still be sleeping in. Sighing, Cocytus leaned down and picked up the firewood, wondering how much longer the boy would continue to mourn. Several weeks had passed, and even though he knew he had to give him time, Cocytus was getting really bored. The worrying thing was that, every few days he would feel an intense murderous presence, but it would be gone before he could even turn around. Dumping his wood onto the fireplace, he turned left and walked up the stairs to Silas' room. Gently rapping his knuckles onto the oak, he called out "Silas, I'm coming in". He opened the door to find...nothing. Raising an eyebrow in wonder, he looked around the room, checked underneath the sheets and the bed...nothing. He brought his hand to his chin and scratched it in wonder. Perhaps he had already gotten over his grief? Probably not. Then where was he? Jogging down the stairs, Cocytus was starting to feel alarmed. That murderous intent...did it have something to do with Silas' disappearance? Skidding around the corner, Cocytus was now full out running around the area. Shed. All the rooms. Forests. Lake. Kitchen. Living room.Roof. Garden. Toilet? Best to wait a bit before checking there. As he got to his last destination, he found him staring at wonder at the sight in front of him. Silently approaching him, he casually said "That's the Source Tree" Silas jumped a bit in fright. Whipping his body around, he asked "What is?" "That big tree with all the fancy aura in front of you. Unless what you're looking at is the barrier" "...there's a barrier?" "Stops people from cutting the tree down" "Who put it there?" "Who knows? My guess is that the tree itself made the barrier" "The tree?" "Who else?" Silas considered for a moment before replying "Whoever planted it here". Cocytus nodded in agreement. After a few seconds, Silas turned around to continue looking at the tree. "...has anybody ever gone past this barrier?" "A few people." "Really? Who?" "Ah you know, people the tree accepts as worthy or as powerful. The ten wizard saints is an example. I've seen plenty of them walk through this barrier as if it didn't exist at all. But, I think it only accepts people with pure souls." "What makes you think that?" "Well a while back this really weird creepy guy who was part of the Wizard Saints tried walking through the barrier. He got blasted outside of the forest" "Do you know his name?" "hmm...I think it was Joseph? It was either Joseph or Josie" "Jose?" "Yeah that's the one...so..what are you doing outside?" "I'm not allowed out?" "No it's not that, It's just that I thought you would still be moping on the floor" "I wasn't moping" "Ah, sorry about that then" Silas stared at the tree for a bit more before turning around and saying "I want you to teach me". Cocytus raised an eyebrow in wonder...lately he had been doing that allot. "Teach you what, how to cook?". Silas didn't even crack a smile, instead he stared hard at Cocytus before saying "Magic. I want to learn how to fight." Cocytus smiled a bit. "Kid, my style's a tad bit unorthodox". "Don't care" Silas retorted. "It's gonna hurt allot ya know" "Physical pain can't be as bad as how I felt yesterday" "Believe me, it will take at least a couple of years" "I don't have anything else to do" "I'm a pretty weird person, I might make you call me Master" "Master Cocytus. Doesn't sound too bad" "...alright. I'm out of reasons to discourage you but let me ask you this one question: Why do you want to fight?" "..." Silas took in a slow breath before saying "you know as well as I do what I'm going to do as soon as I learn how to kill" The man smirked at the determined boy in front of him. How ironic, that the son of Graham would be thirsty for blood at this age. He was starting to resemble Cocytus rather than Graham, even if they weren't related. "Alright kid, I'll teach you but first, get something to eat, today's going to be a very long day" For the first time in several years, Silas' face lit up with genuine joy. "Yes Sir!" He shouted before running towards the house. Cocytus ran a hand through his rough hair...looks like he just picked up a problem child... "Alright Kid, here's how it works. I've got two styles, I can either teach you one of them, or I could teach you both." It was now the afternoon, they were standing as close to the Source Tree as possible. Silas frowned in confusion "Why would I only want to learn one of them?". The mage smirked. "If you only learn one style, that style will become exceedingly strong however, if you learn both, they won't be as refined but you will have a wider range of artillery at your disposal." If possible, the boy's frown became even...frownier. "What styles do you have?". Cocytus walked over to a nearby tree and demonstrated. "First is the magic that I learnt as a kid: Light Magic." The adult jabbed at the tree faster than the human eye, and left a visible dent in the trunk of the tree. "Light Magic is all about using Light. It may sound great but I'm not a plant. I can't absorb sunlight, I can only control the light from my body. But, if you think about it at an angle, you can make your body move at near light speeds, virtually making you one of the fastest guys in the world" Cocking his head to an angle, Silas inquired "And the other style?" Cocytus was obviously pleased, as he barked out a laugh. "The other one is my own custom magic: Flow and Compression. Bit complicated but...well let me show you." He walked over to another tree, this one thicker than the other one and flicked it with his fingers. The trunk immedietly snapped and fell backwards, pieces of wood still connected but severely bent. "You control your magic and release it at a single point. Thereby creating a large amount of destructive force." Silas bit his lip before asking "How long?" "Hmm?" "How long would the second style take to learn?" "hmm, well depends. If you really are Graham's kid...probably less than 3 years but, normally it'd take at least a decade. I took 5 years to master this even though I was the one who made this." "Why would it only take me 3 years?" "Well, your dad was one hell of a mage...shame he quit though" "Why'd he quit?" "No idea, know come on, what do you want to learn: Light, Flow and Compression or both?" Silas smirked before replying "Flow and Compression". Almost barking in relief, Cocytus teased "It might take longer than 3 years if it's you" Silas however, shot back "Wrong. I'll master it in 2 years" Cocytus laughed once again "Algiht, if so then we had better get started but not now. Tomorrow we'll have more time" "Yeah yeah whatever, I'll show you I can do this in 2 years!" Silas shouted in excitment. Cocytus however, whacked him on the back of his head and said "Get moving, it's getting dark soon The trees hid the building from society, and the Source Tree's magic made this forest visible only to the most skilled mages. Yet, even from outside of the forest, certain sounds could be heard, such as a boy screaming in frustration. "Normally people can only use 30% of their strength at most. However there are certain ways that we can use 100% of our strength. Some people resort to using or creating magic or equipment that forcibly removes the limiter. Others use potions. But for you and me, that's different" Silas breathed in to try and calm himself, before clasping his palms together, slowly but surely creating an aura. "Flow and Compression draws out our magic and uses every last unit for a force of destruction. Howver, to truly utilize this magic, you have to be completely calm, draw out your magic from the deepest depths of the body." The aura slowly became a colour of a grey that resembled silver. Slowly opening his eyes, Silas spread his hands away from each other. There, inbetween his palms floated a tiny ball of Silver made of his own magic. "Keep your concentration. A power that, when mastered rivals that of several Guild Aces, it collects all of your magic into a single point, thereby forcing your body to use 100% of it's strength to resupply your body with Magic." Shifting his left foot forward, Silas slowly brought his right hand back, keeping the ball levitating according to his left hand. "If you focus that power into your feet, you'll give yourself an unrivalled speed that can only last a few seconds at most." The ball slowly split into two halves, the other half slowly travelling to Silas' right palm. "If you focus the power into your hands, they will become an invicible yet short lived burst of power" The halves turned into coils and wrapped around his wrist. "But, it is almost impossible to use that ability in the midst of a battle, that is why I only use the principle attacks. Let your opponent's magic and the suroundings become in tune with your soul. Once you are in tune, follow their movements, and predict when they are weakest and then, you strike with as much power you can muster" Taking in another breath, Silas brought both fists to the sides of his hips. "But, you only have one chance to strike...unless that is that you store your magic into an object such as a weapon" Gritting his teeth, Silas tried to imagine the magic coiled around his wrists leaping to his knuckles and dissapating into air. Sure enough, steam began to rise into his field of vision. "So...what has my student achieved so far?" With a cry, Silas punched the space infront of him, creating a small shockwave from his fists. He turned to face his master, wondering wether he had achieved Cocytus' expectations. "you know..." Cocytus started "your father could create craters at this stage" "SHADDUP, I've never used magic before!" "sure sure...whatever you say short stuff" "DONT CALL ME SHORT STUFF and you should be PROUD that I've reached this stage in a week!" "Uh-huh, well I'll be proud when you make craters in the ground. For now, do that again" "Fine!" Silas yelled. He clapped his palms together, easily creating the ball of magic, and then spread them apart..."Oh by the way 'Peppy'" The ball blew up in his face. His eye twitching, Silas slowly turned to face Cocytus before drawing out the word "....What?" "I think it's about time we got some rest yeah?" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Silas walked back to the hut to wash off all the sweat. Smiling a bit, Cocytus turned around to face the Source Tree. Gently touching the barrier, the space around his fingers glowed a dull yellow. As if the presence of the barrier comforted him, he smiled and called out "You can come out now". When nothing happened, he turned around and called out a bit louder "I know you've been watching the kid train for a week now" A gust of air blew, and in front of him a small whirlwind appeared, collapsing and growing until it formed a person. In front of him stood a boy, perhaps one or two years older than Silas. He wore a black cloak that bore the symbol of a crouching dragon. His hair was white but what struck Cocytus as odd were his eyes. A bloody red that didn't bear the feeling of somebody who was crying, those eyes bore an expression of pure bloodlust...Who was he? "What a shame, I was so sure that I kept myself hidden" said the boy. Cocytus narrowed his eyes before slowly forming a ball of magic with the inside of his fist. "Don't even bother, I've watched you demonstrate your moves, I know how they work". Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Cocytus asked "What's your name kid?" "That does not matter." "Who are you?" "That does not matter as well" "Well what does matter?" The boy in front of him smirked. "That boy...I want to see how he'll grow up". Cocytus cocked his head before saying "You're a particularly weird kid you know that?" "Cocytus! Where are you?" Both of them turned their heads to the house, where the voice came from. "Ah, well that's my cue, I hope to see you again...Mr Cocytus..." and with that the boy disappeared, as quickly as he came. Disturbed and at the same time confused with the situation, he nevertheless ignored it, deciding that his own hunger took priority over a crazy kid who could use magic better than Silas could. In the darkness of the night, a single source of light could be seen. As it travelled up a hill, the light swung side to side faster than before. A man burst into a building and called for his master. From the very back of the room, a burp came, an indication that he wanted the man to speak. "Uhh...the kid from before? He says he's got another job for our guild but he only wants 40 of us.". The master of the guild yawned before replying "Well then get to it, pick your 40 people, just as long as the reward is worth it". The man with the light shuffled nervously before daring to say it. "Master, the target this time is somebody from the house of Cocytus." The master's eyes widened considerably. The House of Cocytus? "Are you sure? Are you sure it's Cocytus?". The man replied "The kid apparently did a bit of recon and he said that the target was called Cocytus several times...also master?" The Guild Master took a swig of his bottle before asking "Spit it out, just say it". '' ''"You remeber when we raided that town a few months back?" The man asked. The Guild Master chuckled before muttering "Easiest kills I've ever made...yeah why?" '' ''"Apparently a child from that village escaped and now lives with the Cocytus person" The Guild Master drew in a sharp breath. "Escaped? Ridiculous...does anybody else know this?" "Only Cocytus, the kid and both of us sir" the man mumbled. The Guild Master stood up, but swayed due to all the alcohol he had consumed. "Tell that kid...we'll do this kill free of charge" he slurred to the light. "Please wait just a moment" a clipped voice called out. The Guild Master turned his head towards the wall on his left, before seeing a shape in the shadows. "That voice...you're that kid aren't you?" "Of course I am now let me say something. As this is a mission I created myself, I would ask you perform per my requests. Number one- You do not send any S-class mages to this mission" "Why NOT?" The Guild Master bellowed. "This is a member of the House of Cocytus! If we're going to survive, our best mages will have to go!" "Sir please calm down and let me finish. The particular member of Cocytus, I believe he is an outcast, one of the weaker members if you will" "Oh? Well if that's true then whoever we send wouldn't matter. What's your other requests?" "My other request is this: Wait for 4 years before you execute this mission. Let me explain. The terrain is actually rather difficlt, even with my magic I have difficulty travelling silently. As well as that, I have to say several of your guild members are not quite...up to standards, if you undertsand what I am expressing" "So you're saying that those two are in some forest or something, and that my normal mages won't be able to handle them?" "Yes, I'm so glad you understand. Well then, I have urgent matters to attend to so, do you agree to my terms?" "No S-class mages and wait for 4 years? Don't know why but yeah sure, alright, I'll wait 4 years, give my guild time to train..." And the two shook hands in argreement, before the boy disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing behind. __________________________________________4 YEARS LATER______________________________ X791 16 September Birds scattered from their nests into the sky, clearly disturbed by an unnatural source of sound. A pause of silence...and then an explosion of magic rang out throughout the forest. Followed by another and then one more. If sound had been force, the Earth would have torn apart into several halves. Laughter filled the air as a boy brought his heel down onto his opponent's left shoulder. The shoulder dispersed into particles of light before reforming, at which point the man rammed into the boy's chest. Once a colour of white, the coat that the boy wore had eventually worn down to a dull grey. The boy skidded on the ground a few meters before standing up and streching his arms. "Master, that was brutal" The boy whined. "If I hadn't put up a second skin of magic back then you could've crushed my ribs" The 'Master' simply smirked before replying "And that Silas, is why you always put up an extreme defence" Silas frowned before snapping back "What about you? You're meant to be teaching me the second stage of Flow and Compression and yet, you used light magic to defend against my attack just now" "Are you kidding me? If I tried to block that my hand would've been crushed. Kid, your heel is pretty formidable right about now" "Trying to flatter me?" "Perhaps" Once again, the Master and Apprentice charged at each other, ignoring the craters that now decorated the forest floor. Ducking low, Silas used his hands to pivot his whole body, arcing his legs up and swiping at Cocytus' head. Cocytus reared back and stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave of magic through the Earth, sending Silas flying into the air. Flying thoguh the air, Silas grabbed onto a branch and swung himself so that he was now sitting on top of it. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a small pebble that he flicked towards his Master. Cocytus leapt to the side, before using his magic to jump up onto the opposite side of the tree that Silas was currently perched upon. A pause for Silas to realize what this meant. Shifting his right foot, he circled around the tree and clashed with his Master before retreating to the East side. Leaping once again he clashed with Cocytus simultaneously, each time rising higher and higher, and landing on different sides of the tree. By the time the pair had reached the top of the tree, the trunk had been adorned with several carvings. Heavily panting, Cocytus disappeared, before reappearing behind Silas. Bringing his left foot high, he swiped at Silas' neck before ducking, barely avoiding the counter hook that had been sent his way. However, his face was gifted with a brutal kick enhanced with Flow and Compression that sent him flying all the way to the Source Tree. Crashing against the still strong barrier, Cocytus slid down until his head bumped against the ground. Sighing in annoyance, Cocytus realized that, it wasn't just age, Silas had well and truly surpassed him...in the first stage of Flow and Compression. Smirking, he thought to himself "The second stage huh...well, I may as well start with prac rather than theory" Bringing his palms together, Cocytus settled into a traditional meditation position, cross-legged with both feet above his knees. Breathing in low breaths, a small ball of magic came into existance. That ball was followed by several more, until the area around him was filled with several small balls of magic. Silas leaped from a tree and softly landed some distance away. Even with his eyes closed, Cocyus could tell that his apprentice was confused. "Kid, let me tell you this before it starts. This is the second stage of Flow and Compression, and a tad bit hard to control" Cocytus said, before all the balls instantly connected to his skin like it was an insane magnet. The balls created a second layer of skin that slowly but surely started to stretch and shrink, eventually creating a fearsome yet awesome creature. Silas stared in absolute terror. His master was now a beast in a deep purple. It bore four wings that resembled an insect's. The arm didn't have claws, rather protusions that appeared to be some sort of gun type mechanism. But the most fearsome thing? It's face...it had two eyes, but nothing else. A deep rumbling voice came out of the creature's face "Kid...you surprised? This is the second stage of Flow and Compression: Ingestion." Like a motor being started, the wings started to flutter before making a buzzing noise, slowly lifting his master off the ground. "Create several balls and utilize it in a way that is similar to the 'Second Skin'. But, instead of spreading it over your skin for a defence, let it seep into your pores" Slowly, Cocytus' arm rose up from his side and aimed at a nearby tree."Let the magic be your existance, it will then take on a monstrous form. One that depicts the violent nature of your soul. This may not be my soul but it's as close as it gets" A small whirring sound emerged from his gun-like arm. "When your form has been established, well...not your full ''potential but something close will come out" At this point, a blast of magic erupted from his arm, rocking his arm backwards and hiding everything in a blast of pure white light. "Silas, this is why I was so reluctant to teach you the second stage. Puts you on the edge of insanity this does" When the smoke cleared, the area had been levelled. A cylinder like crater had formed, destroying everything in it's path. Where it stopped Silas couldn't see. He looked to his Master and saw that the second stage had worn off, revealling an exhausted Cocytus. "Come on, lets go back inside, call it a day?" He asked. Still in numb shock, Silas simply nodded before following his master back into their residence. ''The world was pitch black. He couldn't see anything, not his hands, not the tree he was hiding behind and not the hundreds of Dark mages that accompanied him on this night. Taking a cautious look, he craned his neck to look around the branch, seeing that the lights in that house had been turned off. Perfect... He was still in shock from the immense destructive force that Cocytus man had displayed just a few hours ago. He had gone around Seven, destroying several guilds, both light and dark, but he had never seen anybody with that sort of strength. "Umm...sir? When should we strike?" one of the mages inquired. He looked towards the general direction of that voice and calmly replied "Soon, for now, we're just waiting. That man, he should have noticed us by now, if not from the large sum of magic, then obviously from the intense murderous intent you guys are throwing out" A chuckle came from several people near the front of their cover. They certainly wanted a go at Cocytus, afterall, they had been training for the past 4 years just for what would occur the next few hours or so. Everybody quickly stopped. Curious, he asked "What's wrong?" and the response he got: "He's here..." Once again craning his neck, he saw him. Dressed in a simple black cloak, in one hand a chokuto, the other a dove who's head seemed to be alight yet, it remained perfectly calm. "Decapitating Arson..." one of the dark mages gasped. He had to agree, seeing the real thing was far more thrilling than the drab stories he had heard from ''those drunk informants. '' "Oi Kid! I remember you! Come outta there!" Cocytus fearlessly called out. Impressive...out of the 400 or so 'A-class' mages that surrounded him, Cocytus could easily pick him out of the crowd. ''Getting up, he removed himself from the shadows of the forest, revealling himself. "Remember me Cocytus?"'' He watched as the man before him cocked his head in curiosity before replying "You're that kid from four years ago..." What was he doing here? After their brief meeting he had asked around if anybody knew that kid. On his first try, he had gotten a name a reputation :Kharlan Feaw, a mass murderer who wasn't even 10 years old back then. Cocytus guessed that by now, he would be either 12 or 13...how annoying. "You're Kharlan aren't you? The child prodigy, the mass murderer...Fuga effundetur sanguis...the one that started that attack on the village all those years ago?" "yup" "The one that destroyed Dissendagger?" "Nobody else" "The one that killed Graham?" Kharlan let a smile of insanity spread across his face "It was such a quick kill..." Cocytus' cloak slightly moved. Kharlan assumed it was wind, but then he realized "There's no breeze..." A surge of magic blew out of the ground, and surrounded Cocytus. Even though his face was still passive, it was evident he was furious. "You know..." the bird stood up and flew away from Cocytus' hand while he looked down "my apprentice..." He withdrew his blade from the flat sheath "He came from that town" From his pocket he withdrew a small pole "Do you retards have any clue as to how long..." From the pole, another pole was extended, continuing until it had become a staff a metre long "how long..." Cocytus remembered, the days when Silas would lock himself in his room "How Long..." Those nights when he could hear Silas crying "Do you have any clue as to How LONG'" ' The time when he saw Silas covered in cuts, suffering from hunger. Gripping both his staff and blade, Cocytus looked up, revealling a furious expression "DO YOU GODDAMN BASTARDS HAVE ANY CLUE AS TO HOW LONG SILAS SUFFERED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID ATTACK??" The magic that had been surrounding him dispersed into a shockwave, hitting those that were closest to him the hardest. "You want to kill me? WELL THEN COME AND GET IT YOU RETARDS!" And the mages erupted from their hiding spots and charged at Cocytus, with the full intent to murder him and then his apprentice. "mmm...wait a bit longer Cocytus...it's not even dawn yet..." Silas moaned in his sleep. Even from within his sleep he could hear the familiar sound of a knife being drawn out of it's sheath. He waited a bit before sub-conciously rolling to the side of the bed and falling off, indefinetly waking him up. Groggily, Silas opened his eyes to see a figure stand before him. "Cocytus?" In the moonlight, the sharpness of the knife was obvious. Fear immedietly chilled his body, but then Silas used that to kick the man before him in the shins. The man groaned and bent down to rub his shin, but not before his eye was smashed by Silas' heel. Immedietly knocked out by the pain, he dropped the knife which Silas picked up. Staying low and within the shawdows, Silas crept down to the living room. He immedietly recognized the smell that lingered in the knife: blood..."Cocytus?" Silas called out with more confidence. His breath quickened...was history going to repeat itself? This was like Deja-vu...he had already lost his parents, was he going to lose Cocytus as well? Almost hyper-ventilating, Silas sang out in a shaky voice "C~o~c~y~t~u~s" but there was no response. Stepping outside, the scent of blood was far stronger than before. His steps becoming slower, Silas turned the corner and was met with an odd sight. Several bodies littered the floor surrounding the front enterance. Who? Walking faster now, Silas turned the last corner of the building to see his master...on the floor...alongside countless bodies. Running over, he literally shouted out "Master! Master! Cocytus!" Cocytus' breath was coming out in shallow gasps. His eyes flickered out of their daze to see Silas shouting at him...ah...I see...looks like this is the end... opening his mouth, Cocytus rasped "Kid...listen to me..." Silas immedietly fell silent. Taking in several breaths, Cocytus started "Silas, I'll only tell you this once so listen well alright? This world is filled with ridiculously strong people... Even from within this forest you hear stories of Sanjo Vista, Kenshin Suzuki, even of that legendary old geezer Harry Houdini." Silas soon became scared "...Cocytus?" "remember this Silas. All legends were born as normal kids. Only through hard work and sometimes a torturous experience would they rise out to be on par with gods... Just because you were the lone survivor out of everybody in your town, just because you spent everyday training..." "Master, what are you saying?" "and just because you've lost me does not make you a Legend alright? So train hard, Live life and remember..." "COCYTUS STOP IGNORING ME" Cocytus tilted his head and looked directly at Silas. Even in the darkness it was evident that Silas was crying and that Cocytus was saddened. "Silas...I'm sorry but please..." Silas took in a sharp breath...was... was he serious? "you're the only proof that I once existed...so...make sure...you don't die...until...you...die." "...Master?" Cocytus gave a weak, desperate smile before eternally closing his eyes. Slowly, his breathing stopped...his chest stopped moving and his hand, that had been holding onto Silas' shoulder...fell to the ground. Category:The Tale of Team Moon Drop Prologue Arc